Riddle Hospital celebrates 50th anniversary

By KATHLEEN E. CAREY

Saturday, February 16, 2013

MIDDLETOWN -- It was a dying man's wish, accompanied by 72 acres and $2.5 million, to transform his property into a community hospital that has flourished in its five decades and continues to expand and serve the legacy Samuel D. Riddle envisioned.

After being born into the Riddle family in 1861, 26-year-old Sam Riddle became head of the area mills. His interest in service from Middletown township supervisor, post master and president of the Rose Tree Club was as revered as his fancy for race horses, including the famed thoroughbreds Man 'o War and War Admiral, champion hound breeding and fox hunting.

Yet, it was an item in his will, revealed upon his 1951 death, that would cement his lasting impact on the community where he lived. In it, he endowed his property and funds to build a community hospital in Middletown.

A 1958 James R. Mays & Associates survey determined the area had a "definite shortage" of a minimum of 300 beds. And, population counts almost doubled from 59,404 in 1950 to 116,619 in 1960.

On Feb. 18, 1963, Riddle Hospital opened its doors with 150 beds, 16 bassinets, 298 employees and 170 physicians. Over time, it would grow to 32,000 patients being treated annually in the Emergency Department alone and almost 1,000 babies being delivered a year. Since then, 3.5 million people have received care at the facility.

"The strength of Riddle Hospital has always rested with our physicians, nurses, ancillary and support staff who care passionately for our patients," said Gary Perecko, president of Riddle Hospital. "Over the 50 years, and for the next 50 years, we will continue to assess the health needs of our community and offer programs and services to fulfill our mission."

Diane Christie, 58, is one of those staff members who have added to the Riddle heritage.

The West Grove resident started at the hospital as a staff nurse in the medical/surgical unit on July 7, 1975, after graduating from Abington Memorial Hospital School of Nursing.

"I was brand new out of school," the patient safety specialist said. "It was in my neighborhood. It was a big, happy family. You knew everybody."

She recalled the technical differences as well.

"I remember we used mercury thermometers," Christie said. "Your wrist would get sore from shaking it.

"We mixed all of our own IVs," she said. Now, they are pre-mixed by the pharmacy staff.

Nurses had to drop all of the liquids out to measure them.

Now, she said, that is no longer part of the nursing duties, but there are other mechanisms to master.

"(There's) a lot more technology, a lot more equipment," Christie said. "There were no emails, there were no cell phones. Sometimes, it can be overwhelming. In many ways, it's better."

She offered electronic records as an example.

The hospital itself has grown from its 1960s days.

Health Centers 1, 2, 3 and 4 have been added, as has the garage.

Last year, Riddle embarked on a $16 million, 5,000-square-feet addition to its emergency room that will see it increase from 13 to 24 beds.

In 2007, Main Line Health acquired Riddle Hospital and Perecko said that the health system has invested more than $80 million in the Delaware County hospital since that time.

There are now more than 1,200 employees at the hospital to serve the 106,448 patients who walk through its doors each year.

For Perecko, a defining characteristic of Riddle Hospital is its commitment to delivering health care, not solely hospital care.

"We are committed to providing our patients and several communities with the education, resources and care they need to keep them well," he said. "The fascinating and remarkable fact is that this all began as one man's vision to provide for the evolving and growing health care needs of his community. We are privileged and honored to carry out his legacy.

Christie echoed that sentiment in sharing why she's made Riddle her place of employ for more than three decades.

"It's home," she said. "I know a lot of people here. When I started here, it was small. We were just a country bumpkin hospital."

Those times have changed.

"I like seeing us progress," Christie said. "I want to see it succeed and be here when it succeeds and it is succeeding."